


Masks That Hide Us, Bonds That Bind Us

by Lunahras



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Age Swap, Angst, Bot Fighting, Fluff, Gen, hiro just feels lost, tadashi feels left behind
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-14 20:08:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3423926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunahras/pseuds/Lunahras
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Getting a younger brother is just another bump in Hiro's already difficult life. Just how different would the lives of the Hamada brothers be if they had been born in the opposite order? In which Tadashi grows up in his brother's shadow, Hiro has no idea what to do with his life and both of them end up a bit differently than they would have expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Changes That May Come

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Silvanyx5](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Silvanyx5).



Hiro Hamada was three years old when his parents discovered he was a genius.

Hiro Hamada was three years when people suddenly started expecting things from him.

Hiro Hamada was three years old when he discovered that other kids couldn't understand things like he did.

Hiro Hamada was three years old when he first found out what isolation felt like

Hiro Hamada was three years old when he learned how to conceal himself under a façade of childishness.

Not that anyone particularly cared.

But Hiro Hamada was also three years old when his parents told him he was to have a younger brother.

"I hate my little sister!"

"Really? But she's just a baby."

"Yeah, but she does whatever she wants and makes a mess and mommy and daddy don't care. But they get mad when _I_ make a mess. And she's really loud and won't stop crying."

"Wow, that's bad."

"Yeah! And the worst part, she gets all the attention! My parents don't have time for anything, just for her!"

The small boy, sitting away from the rest of the children who were all somewhat older than him, but still close enough to listen in on their conversation, perked up at the last part. A younger sibling could take away all the attention? Well, that was interesting.

" _You're going to be a big brother, Hiro! Aren't you excited?"_

No, he hadn't been excited. Actually, he'd been less than thrilled. But now, now though... maybe having a little brother or sister wasn't such a bad thing after all.

" _He's a genius! Solving such complex equations being barely three years old. Incredible!"_

" _Wow, Hiro! You're such a smart boy!"_

" _Don't mind them son. You're better, that's all there is to it."_

" _You need to do really well in school, okay dear? Because you're too smart for pre-school."_

" _What do you mean he got an A-? My son is genius, he can't have such a score!"_

" _These people want an interview so behave properly, okay?"_

" _He should be in a school for the gifted, not a normal elementary! I don't care what he said he wants!"_

" _Hiro, why are you playing with those dolls? You should be studying. Or at least use those intellectual games we bought especially for you."_

" _You don't need friends, dear. They're not on your level anyway. They wouldn't understand."_

" _Use your brilliant mind and come up with something."_

" _I don't want to see another mistake in your work, okay sweetie?"_

Yes, perhaps having a younger sibling would be able to distract everyone from his apparent genius where all else failed. Perhaps this could all work in his favour. He would have to wait and see.

* * *

Throughout the several months that it took for his little brother to arrive, Hiro actually found himself looking forward to this new addition to his life more out of curiosity than convenience. There was so much going on! His parents were always going to and fro, as if there was never enough time for anything at all. His mother's stomach was growing into a fascinatingly round bulge and she had started eating rather disturbing food combinations. He had even felt some kind of impact once when she'd allowed him to press the side of his face against her belly.

But perhaps the biggest difference was the new room. It wasn't that they had _built_ a new room into the house, no, of course not. He had simply never noticed it before, it had always been an unused guest room after all. But not anymore, oh no. Now the walls were covered in a sky blue wallpaper depicting little robots. There was also a bed, tiny and raised as it was, although it was surrounded by bars. In a corner there was even an open chest, already half full with little weird toys he did not see the point of.

This was his brother's room. Or at least it would be once he finally came.

Hiro felt conflicted. On the one hand, he hadn't been asked about his grades or any extra school projects for _months_. On the other hand... he sort of actually missed the attention. Not to the point that he wanted it back with all the pressure involved, but it felt _weird_ not being constantly questioned as if his above average intelligence was going to flee at the first opportunity.

He may also have missed the few times where his parents actually played with him, when they weren't too busy with work or occasionally marvelling at his apparently special mind. It wasn't like he had any friends to play with after all. All the other kids stayed away from him. Some said he wasn't supposed to be 'smart like a grown-up', the rest just went with the flow.

Daddy... Tou-san... whatever, _he_ always said that he didn't need friends who couldn't 'appreciate' him, but he wasn't so sure about that. Having a friend sounded pretty nice, regardless of what his parents said.

But now he would have a brother and he wondered if it would be like having a friend or if it would be completely different.

He snapped out of his musings when he heard frantic, heavy steps from downstairs, almost impaling his hand with the screwdriver he had "borrowed" earlier in his surprise. He had all but forgotten the little project he'd been absentmindedly working on – what it was supposed to do when it was done was anyone's guess though.

"Hiro! Come down! And get ready to go out. Quickly!" said boy scrambled to his feet and almost flew down the stairs, urged on by the urgency in his father's voice. When he reached the landing and reached for his shoes, he noticed his parents were already outside by the car. Hiro's mother seemed barely able to hold herself up on her own suddenly rather thin-looking legs as she leaned against her husband, using him as a crutch of sorts while she somehow manoeuvred herself into the passenger seat.

His father for his part seemed to be balancing his role as a crutch for his wife and a seemingly urgent phone call.

"-what? No Cass, she isn't dying, but she just- goodness, Cass! She's just giving birth!... Well you would _know_ if you actually listened to me for once. Look, I can't leave Hiro alone while we're both in the room... what do you mean _'baking is more important than an impatient baby'_?! Cass, I swear to God- dammit, it's not the time for jokes! Yes, I'm gonna be there the entire time, I need you to take care of him for a while. Yes, hours. I think you can spend a few hours with your nephew... thanks. Please don't take too long."

And so Hiro found himself sitting on the back seat accompanied by his not-quite-there mother and stressed out father.

* * *

It was gentle poke on the shoulder that woke him up hours later. He opened his eyes, slowly at first then blinking faster to banish the sleep out of his eyes once the increasingly intensifying poking got to be too much.

"Aunt Caaaaass~" he whined, still groggy from his unexpected nap, "Yamerooooo~ Stop iiiiit." But she didn't relent in her assault and the last remains of his resistance gave way to exasperated resignedness and slight annoyance. "Fine, fine. I'm waking up, stop poking!"

The giggle that escaped her was expected. The low, deep chuckle from his other side, however, was not. He turned around warily before his slow waking brain could process the fact that yes, that particular sound was actually quite familiar. The sight that greeted him was that of his father, dishevelled and tired, exhausted even, but sporting a grin so bright that it lit up the whole room.

"Come on, Hiro. Your little brother's waiting for you." he said, effectively sparking the boy's curiosity.

"Hai, Tou-san."

"What, don't _I_ get an invitation too, Tomeo?" teased the sole woman present at the scene with a sly grin.

He simply smiled and shook his head exasperatedly, motioning for her to follow as he took Hiro's hand in his own and led them to the designated room. Hiro didn't pay attention to his surroundings during the short trip, instead trying to imagine what this brother would look like, what he would _be_ like, so he promptly smacked into the man's leg when hey stopped in front of a door without him noticing. Rubbing his nose more out of irritation than actual pain, he watched as the door slid open before entering the room first. If his father found his apparent hurry rather amusing, he did not say so out loud.

Hiro found his mother immediately, lying in a bed in the middle of the room like that, and immediately headed for her. If he'd thought his father looked exhausted, then she was on the verge of death. The thought made him uncomfortable and he quickly banished it from his mind, lest it go down an unsavoury train of thought before he could stop it. Yet still her smile remained, strained and somewhat weak, but oddly satisfied, and it widened a margin once she spotted him.

"Hiro, Hiro-chan, my dear Hiro," her eyelids seemed to fall with every word and her voice sounded raspy and pained, "You have a brother now, Hiro. He's so beautiful. He'll be as smart as you, I'll say. Take good care of him, Hiro. Take good care of Tadashi, ne?"

As her eyes closed and the hand weakly caressing his cheek fell, he started panicking a bit, until he turned to his father's still smiling visage, "She's just asleep. Mommy's been working hard for a while, she deserves her rest." That calmed him down and he nodded, albeit reluctantly.

The small boy looked around and his father, apparently knowing instinctively what he was looking for, pointed at a corner of the room that was occupied solely by a strange looking crib-like... thing. He approached it slowly and with no small amount of trepidation until he was right in front of it and stepping on the little bench that had probably been placed there for this exact purpose.

Peering down, he found that... Tadashi, right, that was his name... that Tadashi was not quite what he had expected. Instead of a screaming, crying little mass of human, he found himself staring down at a tiny, peacefully sleeping, absolutely _adorable_ child. Oh sure, he was wrinkly and red and that little stain behind his ear was probably blood and god knows what else. But this was his brother now.

This was Tadashi.

At that moment, Hiro felt it: a small spark of warmth in his chest that spread with an almost pleasant kind of pressure. He knew this feeling, though he had unfortunately felt it a lot more scarcely in the last year and a half. It was like those times.

When his father hugged him tightly, whispering words sweet and calming as dripping honey, and didn't let go until his body felt as warm as it did under the blanket.

When his mother talked to him on and on, excitedly explaining the finer details of her latest project to him with a grin that would put the sun to shame.

When aunt Cass visited for the sole purpose of sneaking him sweets and snacks while his parents weren't looking – that time when she had come with a literal mountain of cookies to congratulate him for his early entrance into school had been exceptionally memorable.

And also now, when he looked down at his oh so tiny little brother and had the unexplainable urge to wrap his arms around him and never let go. Suddenly those thoughts from months ago of using him as a shield of sorts felt so terrifyingly _wrong_ and he wanted to smack himself for no reason he could understand.

Hiro was four years old when his little brother Tadashi was born, but suddenly he felt just a little bit older.


	2. Off With The Wind

“Oi! Ow! Ow ow ow ow owowowowowowOW! Gettimoff get him OFF!”

Maemi Hamada was having a hard time suppressing a laugh as she reached down and gently pried two-years-old Tadashi's tiny fingers from his elder brother's hair. Tadashi himself, however, had no such qualms as he openly giggled at the annoyed glare Hiro sent his way.

“You little devil.” he muttered under his breath.

His mother blinked, “Sorry, honey, I wasn't paying attention. What was that?”

“Nothing, kaa-chan!” he hurriedly covered up, thanking whatever deity had decided to spare him today.

“Nii-chan!” he exclaimed gleefully and with as much pride as two-year-old could muster up at saying a word he had learned not long ago. Chubby hands found their way back to Hiro's face, this time settling on his cheeks and squeezing a bit.

Hiro valiantly tried to keep his face in an irritated expression, “What?”

Tadashi's grin only grew, “Nii-chan shouldn't pout!” at that Hiro's eyes widened comically as he sputtered in startled outrage. But the younger's grin was infectious and he couldn't help but returning it, ruffling his hair as a form of petty, meaningless vengeance, to which Tadashi only reacted with louder giggles.

Maemi then lifted him up and put him down on a different corner of the living room filled with little toys, “Okay boys, I'm going out for a bit and I don't want you playing rough. You hear me, Hiro?” she sent him a pointed look.

He mustered up the most innocent expression he could manage, “Whatever do you mean?”

The woman rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed, “You know what I mean. I don't want to see Tadashi hanging from the bedpost and covered in scrapes again.”

“That was just an experiment!”

“Well, no more 'experiments', then.”

“It was for _science_!”

“Uh huh.”

“Science is important!”

“If it's so important maybe you should start on your homework, hm?”

Hiro visibly grimaced but before he could retort she was already out the door. He turned back to his little brother, gesticulating wildly, “You understand me, don't you, Tadashi?”

“Mh hm!” the other nodded enthusiastically, but soon found himself distracted by the toys that surrounded him.

Hiro sighed exaggeratedly and went to grab a screwdriver that he had dropped at some point. Probably when his brother suddenly pulled at his hair, taking him completely by surprise. As he resumed his work on the little contraption he was working on, his mind drifted off, suddenly fascinated by how using his hands to handle tools and put pieces together had become increasingly easier as time passed. Maybe it was because his hand wasn't as chubby as it used to be.

He looked at the mass of bolts, cables and stray pieces in hand and wondered yet again what it would end up as. Ever since his genius had been “discovered”, he had started building pointless contraptions to take his mind off of things, made of potential garbage and a few little things he'd managed to swipe from his parents' lab-slash-workshop in the basement. He just put all the pieces together in some way, never missing a single one, to make a silly little thing without a purpose, contemplate it for a while, then dismantle it and start anew with anything else he could find around the house added to the mix.

He may or may not have taken the toaster apart at one point to get this one fuse.

He shifted a bit, his position on the carpeted floor starting to become a bit uncomfortable, and leaned back on the side of the sofa as he continued to fiddle with tools. Looking up for a moment to see exactly why his playing brother had become so silent out of sudden, he noticed said boy staring out the window at a flock of birds flying by. Tadashi frowned for a moment before turning to his elder brother.

“How do birds fly?” he asked earnestly.

Hiro, for his part, was taken completely by surprise at the sudden question and spent a moment trying to gather his wits, “Uh, birds? Fly, right, uhm...” he racked his brain for an answer. He knew this! He had asked about the subject himself not so long ago. Now, if only he could remember... “Ah! Right! Well, their bones are hollow, so that makes them light enough that they can keep themselves in the air. Feathers have something to do with it too...” he trailed off, contemplative.

Tadashi tilted his head, “Bones?”

“Uh yeah, you know,” Hiro knocked on his forehead with his knuckles to illustrate, “the hard stuff. In your body, I mean.”

Tadashi's eyes lit up in understanding and he looked down at his own arm in confusion. Hiro noticed and quickly realized what was going through the toddler's head, “Whoa, wait! Tadashi, no. Your bones aren't hollow, you can't fly.”

Tadashi looked back up and pouted, “Eh? Really?”

“Really.” Hiro sighed. “I mean, people _can_ fly, just not the way birds do it.”

Tadashi scrunched up his face in thought, then stood up and shakily walked over to the sofa Hiro was leaning against. He passed the older boy and Hiro could hear small grunts of effort and the soft, almost inaudible thump of skin on plush. He frowned but didn't stand up to look behind him, nor did he turn his head to look above him and see if could take a peek of the small boy, “Dashi? What are you doing?” For a moment, there was only the sound of hard breathing-

_THUMP_

“OOF!”

Hiro's pained groan was muffled by the soft, fluffy carpet his face was currently being pressed into. Above him, literally _on_ him, something moved and writhed and squealed, only serving to increase the almost painful pressure on his back. Something twitched and suddenly there was an elbow digging into his neck.

“Hm hmph!” he attempted to complain and it was apparently understood as the pressure disappeared after some fumbling and tripping. Carefully, Hiro used his arms to push his abused body off the floor and looked up to meet Tadashi's sheepish gaze. He glared for a while, a low growl escaping his throat and Tadashi's eyes widened in mild fear for his wellbeing. He bolted for the hallway with unapologetic giggles trailing behind him just as Hiro stood up to follow.

“ _TADASHI!_ ”

The following chase would later be looked upon as the most epic, most destructive game of tag they had ever taken part in. Even Tadashi would be able to remember most of it years later.

Needless to say, their mother wasn't very thrilled when she came back.

* * *

Hiro looked at the little pointless machine he had yet again created, contemplative frown marring his face. Unbidden, he suddenly remembered his brother looking out the window, strangely fascinated by the flying creatures. He kept staring at the thing. Then, he finally came to a conclusion and started dismantling it.

He was starting his first project.

A bird.

The next weeks passed in a frustratingly slow crawl as Hiro spent them gathering the necessary materials. Not just whatever he could find, no, he actually had sneak into the basement while his parents weren't there and spend hours trying to figure out what exactly he needed, all the way trying not to freak out at every small noise because if his parents found out he would be so dead. (It never occurred to him that they might have let him borrow anything he needed and even recommended some things to him as long as he finished all his schoolwork properly – or maybe it did).

When he finally deemed his stash complete enough, he started tinkering. However, after only days of this he noticed that this process wasn't quite working the way he thought it would. Nevertheless, Hiro was nothing if not stubborn and kept trying to add piece by piece as they seemed to fit. He finally gave up on this approach three weeks later when he had already used half of his available parts, the tiny, ridiculously-difficult-to-handle ones included, and his work still didn't resemble what he was aiming for in the least. Then again, he didn't really have much of a mental image, just a vague idea... oh.

And so, Hiro discovered that plans, rough drafts and exact blueprints were actually rather important features in the process of creating something with an actual purpose instead of something that stretched the expression “It works” to the limits. Sitting down in front of his desk, he grabbed a pencil and started sketching some ideas – only to promptly realize that birds were really freaking weird and he had no idea how they worked. With a sigh, he turned on his computer – a gift from his sixth birthday – and searched for pictures of birds.

The search was agonizingly fruitless and it took him a while to uncover the fact that what he was looking for wasn't just birds, but their anatomy. Choosing a random, rather ordinary looking kind, he spent an impressive amount of time studying the pictures and trying to copy them onto a blank sheet of paper. Honestly, when Hiro had started this thing, he hadn't thought it would involve so much work and studying. It took a considerable time for him to produce a design that somewhat replicated this anatomy fittingly enough before he could finally move on to planning how he would put it all together, He had long since taken apart that failure of a first try.

Drawing proper blueprints, Hiro discovered after several failed attempts and days of measuring parts and the amount of material he had, was ridiculously hard and troublesome. Still he was about finished, though he wondered if there were any more efficient ways of doing this. Hm, well there was a thought. He opened his browser and played around with a few search keywords...

...what did they mean, there were softwares for this kind of thing?

Hiro stared at the screen for a while, feeling conflicted, before he released a cry of sheer frustration and almost tore the sheet he had just been working on into millions little pieces. He managed to convince himself that it was a bad idea and it would just waste all of his work, but the seemingly mocking smudges and wrinkles on the innocent-looking piece of paper made it oh so tempting.

The door to his and Tadashi's shared bedroom suddenly opened and Hiro scrambled to cover everything up before turning to face the intruder with what he hoped was an innocent expression. His father looked at him with confusion, then thinly veiled amusement. “Working on something, son?”

“Oh, um, yeah, well, you know, homework and... school... stuff.” was his eloquent reply.

Tomeo chuckled and made to withdraw from the room, but not before throwing a comment over his shoulder, “You know, the next time you need something from us, you can ask.”

The door closed as Hiro's eyes widened and his face turned an interesting shade of red that made his cheeks feel like they would burn off any minute now.

So maybe he should have asked.

* * *

Finally! It was finally finished! All those weeks, months even, of work had paid off. Hiro stood alone in his room. He would have preferred the garage, but it was currently occupied by the car. Still, he couldn't care less right now, what with his little masterpiece ready to activate.

The young boy couldn't keep the stupid smile off his face as he held his hand up, the little device fitting snugly between his fingers. Giddy with excitement, he pressed his thumb to the top of the pseudo bird's head and loosened his grip. His grin widened as it started flapping its wings and moving forward a bit-

And then it fell like a rock, clattering on the floor.

Hiro stared.

And stared.

And stared.

And sta-

“What the heck is this?!”

The bird apparently thought that ignoring him was the best course of action and remained silent.

“Well?!”

More silence.

Hiro did not throw a tantrum all by himself, nor did he trip on a bolt during said tantrum. It did not happen.

Breathing heavily and rubbing his bruised chin, he continued to stare at the stupid, insolent bird. Why didn't it work? What had gone wrong? Were he mechanisms having problems? No, he had checked those. Maybe a short circuit-

“ _Well, their bones are hollow, so that makes them light enough that they can keep themselves in the air.”_

After a moment of shock at his utter stupidity, he decided to introduce his palm to his face. Several times. Of course! It didn't work because it was too heavy. So either he needed to make the motor and the wings stronger... or he needed to make the whole thing lighter. That meant lighter materials altogether.

He looked back at his creation. That would mean making it again out of scratch. But the other option couldn't guarantee anything. The thing _was_ pretty heavy, he admitted as he lifted it off the floor.

Hiro sighed.

Starting from scratch it was, then.

* * *

It was while working on his second bird, having stayed up a bit later than he probably should have, that he realized he hadn't drunk anything since that morning and decided to sneak into the kitchen for a quick sip of water. He opened the door of the room as quietly as possible, so as not to disturb his sleeping brother, and slipped into the hallway.

However, his trek to the kitchen was cut short when he heard voices coming from his parents' room. Curiosity took over and he leaned against the door in the hopes that they would become clearer.

“...first few he solved perfectly really. But the other problems, the most difficult ones...” that was kaa-chan.

“He didn't get them, huh?” and tou-san.

There was a moment of silence in which he assumed she was shaking her head, “No, he didn't. These are the same problems Hiro solved at the same age, so...”

Hiro sucked in a sharp breath, heart suddenly pounding in his chest as he listened more intently. They couldn't be talking about... but when had it happened? Had he been too distracted to notice?

“So Tadashi, isn't as brilliant as Hiro. Big deal. He was still able to solve the first few _at the age of three_. He's still a little genius. Besides, even if he wasn't-”

“I know, Tomeo. He's still our Tadashi. That will never change. And he's still really smart.”

“I'll say! Now, come on, Maemi. You need to sleep. Hell, I need to sleep. It's late. Nothing's changed. They're still our boys.”

A slight chuckle, “I guess. Good night.”

“Night”

Hiro waited for a moment to make sure they wouldn't continue their conversation before he headed back to his room, drink all but forgotten. He sat down on his bed and released a shuddering breath.

Tadashi was smart, he knew that. But... not as smart as Hiro, apparently. He looked to the small lump on the other bed and his eyes softened, then closed.

“I'm glad,” he sighed. And he was. He was also angry, annoyed, sad and a bit desperate, but above all he was glad, “Be a happy kid, otouto. Don't let anything ruin that.”

* * *

Tadashi's birthday – the occasion on which he had wanted to give him the little piece of work – flew by while he worked on the second version of his little bird, now affectionately dubbed Bird 2.0 because he couldn't come up with anything better.

He did finally get it finished, although the process wasn't really shortened by his newly acquired experience, seeing as he had had to trade materials from his parents with responsible homework-doing. And _man_ did those things take time. As he finished fine tuning it, the door opened and his parents walked in.

“We're going out, dear. Cass will be here soon, so please don't give her too much trouble, hm?” said his mother as she knelt and hugged him briefly. Hiro hummed in agreement to her request as his father also hugged him and then patted his head, smiling warmly.

“Have fun.” he said distractedly, missing the amused glance his parents shared before they departed. Hiro stood up shakily, excitement running through is very being. It was done. He had even given it a test run. It worked perfectly. No more disappointments.

He almost ran out of his room and down the hallway, barely stopping himself at the doorway of the living room, where his brother was playing with a toy car (if trying to see how high he could throw said car counted as playing). He breathed in deeply, the exhaled.

“Hey Dashi,” the response was automatic. Tadashi immediately looked up and grinned from ear to ear.

“Nii-chan!”

Hiro couldn't help the laugh that escaped him at the sight as he approached the smaller boy, “I have something for you.”

“Really?” Hiro didn't know a grin like that could get even bigger, but apparently it could.

He smiled, “Yeah. Here you go.” He dropped the object into Tadashi's hand and let him stare down at it for a moment, “Well?”

Tadashi looked up, confusion clouding his gaze as he frowned, “It's an egg.”

Hiro snorted with barely contained laughter. It was indeed an egg, if one of the shiny, silver variety. “Yes, it's an egg.” he said, pointing his index finger towards the top of the egg from above in a dramatic gesture, “Until you press the top.”

A circle was suddenly visible at the top as it was momentarily pressed downwards. Mere seconds later, several smooth, hairline cracks appeared on the surface. Then it started shifting. Tadashi looked on in unadulterated fascination as it sprouted wings and a head out of sudden. It kept shifting until the egg shape was completely broken to be replaced by a rather simple looking bird.

It was immobile at first, which is why Tadashi gave a startled shout when it started flapping its wings and took off from his palm, flying around the room with seemingly boundless energy. It came very close to the walls and furniture, but never quite managed to collide with them. Tadashi gaped, then looked at Hiro in disbelief, “This is for me?”

Hiro rubbed the back of his neck, “Well, yeah. You were talking about birds and flying a few months ago so I thought you'd like it. I mean, I know it's not that awesome, but-” he was unexpectedly cut off by a three-year-old tackling him to the floor.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!”

The eldest was paralysed for a moment before he returned the hug, “You're welcome, otouto. Have fun with it.”

“I will!” was the enthusiastic reply.

This was the scene their aunt walked into when she opened the front door, “Awwww! Aren't you two adorab- oh my goodness what is that?!” She jumped when Bird 2.0 approached her, he quickly changed directions before it could crash into her face.

“Nii-chan made it for me!”

Cass stared at them for a moment, then looked back at the bird, “Seriously? You made this, Hiro?”

He blushed, “Ah, well...”

“Wow, that's amazing! And I get to see it before Tomeo! Hah! Take that, you boasting brother.”

The afternoon quickly spiralled down into a pillow fight prompted by Tadashi (which the bird did not take part in) which left all three in a giggling heap in the corner of the living room.

By the time they were done, it was late and both boys were exhausted, Tadashi was already nodding off. Cass had already tucked him in and was in the process of convincing her other nephew that yes, sleep was necessary for a seven-year-old when the phone rang. She gave him a _look_ – this discussion is no over, young man – while she walked up to the phone and took it.

“This is the Hamada residence, Wha-” she cut herself off and scowled, probably listening to the person on the other end. Then her eyes widened and she covered her gaping mouth with one hand, “No, you must be mistaken. They can't- I... please.” Hiro noticed with some worry that there were tears at the corners of her eyes and he moved closer to her. She didn't seem to notice him, however, as her expression grew more and more horrified. Out of sudden, she hung up and let the phone fall from her grasp, trying to cover her face with her hands as she leaned on the wall.

“Aun- uh, O-oba-chan. What...”

She looked down at him, surprised at his proximity, and he finally noticed the tears streaming silently down her face. “A-ah, Hiro, you, ah...” she trailed off, closing her eyes and the kneeling in front of him, hands firmly grasping his shoulders even with the slight tremble in them, “Hiro... yo- your parents... there was an accident.... a... a car accident. They were coming back and... and... someone crashed into their car. He was drunk...and... oh God, Hiro...” he trembling of her hands intensified but he didn't notice.

No, he just replayed her words in his mind again and again, staring blankly off into space.

They couldn't-

It couldn't be-

“...ing” his whisper went almost unheard, but she lifted her head, anguished eyes meeting blank ones, “You're lying.” he whispered again, this time a bit more loudly, “You're lying.”

She suppressed another sob, “Oh Hiro...”

“You're lying.” his eyes were shining, “You're lying!” his frame was trembling, “You're lying!” his face was contorted in rage and grief. “YOU'RE LYING!”

He tried to hit her, tried to hurt her. His heart was breaking and the world was at fault. Cass took two hits before she pulled him into a firm embrace. He struggled, but to no avail, she still held him. He yelled at her, but only got sobs and soothing words in reply.

After a while, he felt like all his energy was depleted. He stopped struggling and sagged into her arms. “You're... lying. You're lying...” he repeated in-between sobs.

“I wish I was.” she whispered brokenly into his hair, “I wish I was.”

Soon, even his sobs subsided and he just sat there in her arms, exhausted and not able (not willing) to think about anything.

“Nii-chan?” he stiffened, immediately recognizing both the form of address and the sleepy voice, “Aunt Cass? What's going on?”

Their aunt tensed when he tried to pry himself from her arms, but she let him go. He slowly walked up to Tadashi, “Come on, otouto.” is voice was raspy, but he paid it no mind, “You need to go to bed.”

“Nii-chan, are you alright? I heard something...”

“I'm fine, Tadashi. Let's go. I'll sleep with you tonight, okay?”

“Eh? Really?” a sleepy smile pulled at the youngest's lips at the prospect.

“Yeah. Come on. You need to sleep.”

“Hai hai.”

Cass watched the scene unfurl almost detachedly. She waited a few minutes, then went into their room to check if they were alright. Finding one bed empty, she looked at the other and saw two lumps under the blanket, the bigger one spooning the smaller.

Oddly content with this arrangement, she closed the door and headed for the guest room, being very careful not to look and the parents' room door on the way. Once she was alone she could cry herself to sleep without worrying about those two.

Tadashi Hamada was three years old when their parents died, but he would barely remember them years later.

Hiro Hamada was seven years old when their parents died, and as he watched the coffins being lowered into the ground a few days later, he swore to himself that he would never see his brother's.

He wouldn't allow it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE REMEMBER THIS STORY WAS GREATLY INFLUENCE BY Silvanyx5 ON FF NET AND SHE'S AWESOME GO READ HER STUFF especiall Looking into the Mirror. it's so coool!  
> not much to say about this (except that i feel like i wasted an entire chapter on a bird. oh well)  
> Reviews are love! Reviews are life!

**Author's Note:**

> ATTENTION PLEASE. THIS FANFICTION WAS ONLY POSSIBLE WITH THE HELP OF Silvanyx5 SO PLEASE GO CHECK OUT HER STUFF SHE'S INCREDIBLE PLEASE GO NOW
> 
> ahem, now that that's out of the way, welcome everybody to the plotbunny that has been eating at me for weeks! A Big Hero 6 Age-swap AU! this came out a bit shorter than my usual chapters but meh. I've got pretty much the entire story plan so I don't believe I'll be dropping it any time soon (she'll kill me if I ever do that)
> 
> I would love it if you left a review! They're very helpful!


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